Sunday, May 26, 2013

For the last few decades, since hardware and software have conquered
organizations for the better or the worse, there has been a widespread
myth about the power of the "IT silver bullet" that just requires
technically-correct implementation, and the magic will happen. And if
not, there will be a next technology that will do it.

Accordingly, too many organizations are in the belief to need IT project
managers that are the xyz software/database etc. expert. <begin of
snark>Of course, in case a project fails, stakeholders of those
organizations will be exonerated, as they have done "everything" to
choose the right project manager.<end of snark>

Let's face it - if we look at real reasons why IT projects failed (and continue to fail), we find organizational issues such as

Insufficient involvement of stakeholders

Undefined project scope

Lack of resources

Insufficient communication (not appropriate to the problem)

Poor planning

Bad budgets

Missing methodology and/or tools

and "the project manager did not know the technology" is none of them (Independent sources can be easily googled).

My short answer: A seasoned IT project manager's success will not depend
on his knowledge about any specific technology (and I do not cite from a
book, but reflect my own experience!) - Does it hurt to be a technical
specialist? Yes, it can, because it may turn the focus too much away
from the real business requirements and from "managing the project".

My additional comment

This last question .. [What if the PM does not look at solutions outside his current skill set? byPatrick Richard ing., PMP ] .. is actually one of my major concerns, as the history of IT projects continues to repeat itself: Too many client organizations have a biased fixation on a particular target technology and, instead of evaluating a solution based on documented business process and data models, a prematurely selected technical environment is twisted until it "approximately" matches the requirements.

Returning to the original question - my advice for Human Resources departments (and recruiters acting on their behalf): Pay attention to the soft skills and don't look for the technical expert, otherwise you may end up only with the second best project manager!